Michael's promotion an open-and-shut case

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Michael Clarke deserves an extended run at the top of the
Australian one-day batting order. He has been given two chances to
show his wares and has taken both with familiar zest. Under the
sunny skies of Melbourne and at windswept Bellerive Oval he has
batted superbly in an unaccustomed position.

His success was no surprise because he has taken to
international cricket as does a bird to flying. Nothing has been
too much for him. From the outset he has been happy in the middle
order or at slip or with the ball in his hand or in front of a huge
crowd in Bangalore. He is not afraid of anything. Fear does not
enter the fray till later in life, when it must be confronted and
overcome.

In both performances, Clarke has shown the daring and verve
needed to shake the early torpor from an innings. Indeed he looks
every bit as comfortable in the role as did Mark Waugh, Adam
Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, two of whom were promoted for the
purpose. He has also unleashed an uncommon range of shots, all of
them played with energy and calculation. It is this combination of
range, eye and freedom of the mind that makes him hard to
contain.

Except in their intent, the newcomer's innings were not carbon
copies. Facing the West Indies he cut with such force that hardened
fieldsmen were left wringing their hands. Nor were all the
deliveries dispatched all that short. Any fool can cut a long-hop.
Truly gifted players punish the ball pitching a fraction shorter
than intended, thereby disturbing the best laid plans of the
leather-flingers.

The Pakistanis, of course, noticed the tyro's eagerness to cut
and vowed to deny him opportunities. Clarke responded with an
innings that confirmed his ability to score off both feet and on
both sides of the wicket. He played a sumptuous back-foot drive
past extra cover and seized on anything directed at his body with a
pull shot that brooked no argument. Repeatedly he flicked the ball
off the front foot through mid-wicket and off the back foot behind
square. He sometimes leant back to create runs from the wind.

As might be expected from an intelligent cricketer, Clarke used
his wits on the field. Determined to put the pressure back on the
bowlers, he tried to strike a boundary early in every over.
Anticipating that his opponents intended to pitch up, he
concentrated on his drive, occasionally retreating from his stumps
to find room to play the shot. Once he backed away, watched the
ball closely and lifted it over cover. Often he was content to
drive down the ground with the full blade. His command of the
orthodox helps him to reduce the risk attached to the intrepid.

Clarke's footwork was exceptional. As tennis players often point
out, a shot cannot be properly controlled when the feet are
together or slow into position. Clarke is sharp in his movements
and has the ability in an instant to step right forwards or back
onto his stumps.

Like Roger Federer, he seems to move in sympathy with the ball
as if some sixth sense had informed him of its flight. Sometimes
the Australian opener changed the length by standing outside the
crease and followed by stepping back next delivery anticipating an
adjustment by his opponent.

Clarke added to his effect by hitting the ball hard. Once he has
chosen his shot he does not hold back. His entire body, his whole
personality, is used to lash the ball. Moreover, his timing was
superb, so that the ball sped from his bat like a bullet from a
gun. He was formidable in every regard. Pakistan could only hope
that he lost his head or else his luck ran out.

Clarke produced a fine innings for his side. From the outset he
was happy to take responsibility for pushing the score along as his
partner settled in. As wickets began to tumble, he realised that a
weight had fallen upon his shoulders and responded accordingly.
After the break for rain, he produced a succession of brilliant and
booming drives that cut short Shoaib Akhtar's return to the
crease.

In the event, Clarke fell a few runs short of his hundred. Not
for the first - or last - he was caught on the boundary. It had
been a timely and accomplished innings. One of the few question
marks about Clarke is his form against high-class fast bowlers, a
breed now in short supply. Otherwise, he has jumped every hurdle.
He deserves further chances as an opener.